Chapter Text
“Reyes always said the closest town is twenty miles away.”
“Shall we find out?” Illyanna smirked at Roberto, crouched on the rubble in the fading shadow. Dani and Rahne shared a knowing look, things could only get better.
—
A joyous howl echoed across the moors as Rahne sprinted across where the barrier once was and their cage’s walls had now fallen. Not far behind was Illyanna, caught up in the emotion everyone was exuding in their victory; everyone else was sprinting not far behind. The entire world was spread out before them, where once hope of escape was lost, it was rejuvenated.
Leaving the chapel in ruins and having been cajoled by Sam into grabbing essentials and bags beforehand. They ran to the top of the nearest hill as the sun began to truly rise and they were led by Rahne to the top of the hill and towards the rising sun. Orange hues cast them in light as they all collapsed at the top of the hill, Dani had thrown hers and Rahne’s bag down in front of them before leaning against Rahne. Sam had rolled halfway down the hill and had ended up upside down, his cap and bag having fallen off and tumbled down further.
Their silence was one of camaraderie as they watched the rising sun, feeling the wind run over them and ruffle the grass they sat on. Dani had missed the freedom and she hadn’t been locked away that long, she couldn’t imagine how long the others had been in there- trapped. She vaguely remembered Rahne saying something about being thirteen when her powers came to: she would ask later. On a lame leg, Illyanna was the first to stand up, scouring the horizon before pointing towards a few houses and a barn in the distance.
“That’s where we should head next,” She declared, “Twenty miles is only seven hours, we can be there by,” She checked her watch she had stolen from Reyes’ room, “By two. Giving us time to find accommodation.” She began to march off before Dani’s voice called out- opposing her.
“Wait- why don’t we decide on what to do first?” She sat up straight, forcing Rahne into a further slouch against her, “We can’t just go marching to the nearest town.” She brought an arm up to curl against Rahne’s chest and exchanged another small smile, “We should plan ahead at least a little.”
“Yes we can,” was Illyanna’s curt reply.
“What about actually going to the X-Men?” Roberto suggested, grinning at the thought and from his downward position, Sam grinned back at him. School once seemed like a chore to him but he was increasingly ready to go back to it- but it was far from his mind as the open sky stretched up before him.
“I mean Canada’s always an option, isn’t it?” Rahne threw out there, “We could seek asylum- I know they were doing that for Americans because I saw it on TV.” She made a wishy-washy ‘before’ motion with her hand. Everyone began climbing to their feet as the tension spiked from Illyanna.
“We have a plan, get out of this damned place,” She was steadfast in her voice and it seemingly left no room for argument- except for Dani,
“But what about after?” She emphasised, crossing her arms, “What about after the twenty mile hike, where will we sleep? We can’t live out of our bags forever,” A dangerous voice in the back of her mind asked if Illy could even make the hike for they all saw Illy fall. Dani repeated the words and a collective hush fell over the group.
Despite Dani having the high ground, Illyanna stalked up the hill to meet her. Limp in her leg gone and a fire in her eyes. Sam scrambled to stand before she could make her way past but he was too disorientated from the blood rushing back down from his head to do much but wave a little.
“I’m perfectly fine to walk, but - if you are so concerned - I will make my way there, by myself,” Illyanna snarled, a false nicety in her voice. Sam shouted a wait, however, it was too late and Illyanna had already teleported, the faint blue afterimage dissipating. A collective groan took over the group and Rahne rolled her eyes.
“What Illyanna could of explained was that most likely Essex Corp will be coming back here as soon as they realise Reyes’s dead,” Sam told Dani and she looked acceptably ashamed. Looking around the group, he declared a vote for going to the town over the horizon, already counting Illy’s vote. Now that there were five patients, democracy came easier within the Milbury Group. Roberto was quick to put his hand up, shrugging before saying, “They could always make a plan later.” Rahne followed after, nodding and everyone turned to Dani.
“She could’ve explained it at least,” rolling her eyes before setting down the hill in a slight strop, Rahne tagging alongside her girlfriend. Sam picked up Illyanna’s bag offering it to Berto who took it readily before the pair walked side by side down the hill. Onto their next chapter. Twenty miles couldn’t be that bag, could it?